Revelations
by nescienx
Summary: Neo/Smith. Slash. A few months after the face-off with Agent Smith in the Matrix, Neo finds himself momentarily trapped in the simulated world and who should appear but the agent he thought he had killed?
1. Opened Doors

**Foreword:** Before the story starts, I would very, very muchly want to thank aingeal because she had to put up with me incessantly telling her that 1) I cannot write, 2) I can't write this, 3)this is wonky. She had to beta-read this slash too, because I think that's what friends are for. She sacrificed her night to finish beta-reading too, which I didn't expect her to be able to do so (and fell asleep until my room froze over with the aircon on). So here this is, thanks to her. Another friend who I have to thank for actually starting this is wynter_myst, who is also not into slash, and blames me for supporting this pairing. Have no idea why. Must be because of the promise of "hot, manly sex". Anyway, I blame her for my "Mr Anderson" obsession. Lastly, this is the first ever longest fic of mine. O_o ~14.5.03  
**Disclaimer:** All works of fiction! Poem used in fic is also of my creation. Characters belong to the Wachowski brothers. I do not profit monetarily.

  
  


**Opened Doors**  
_by Caitlynne_

* * *

_I opened the doors not knowing what I would find  
Only knowing that I cannot turn back and look behind  
And as I walked futher down the corridors of today  
I can only hear my footsteps echoing down the hallway.  
And in the silence that was everything else I dread  
That I will only learn what I rather not know instead.  
_

* * *

__

What is real?  


  
A desolate figure stood in an empty office, his fingers resting, gently pressed against the cool glass. The office was a sixteen degrees celsius, the air-conditioners at full power. Paperwork was all around, the computers were all in screensaver mode but there were no one in the office. The inhuman silence would have be overwhelming for the man, had he not realised that this was all nothing, because it was not real. Yet the boundary between real and unreal, had always seemed non-existent. The concept of realness that was not there. Like sensing pain in a phantom limb. In a strange paradox of many paradoxes, the emotions that were evoked, the senses that were alerted, all that men had thought to be humanity, was only virtual. A world crafted and moulded to people's perception of normalcy. A world built on contradictions, as people were oppressed, without knowing it, continuing with their lives, unable to recognise the false nature of their reality.  


Almost like the_ brain in a vat_ hypothesis, which was eerily uncanny to this world.  


  
__

So what is real?  


  


Was it the solid glass window before him, which his very hand was in contact with? Was it that he felt the cool breeze from the aircon that should have chilled him, but did not? Or was the fact that he was just standing there, breathing?  


  
__

What is not?  


  


Neo was not sure if he liked the matrix-generated world, though he admitted that the people within it lived in a better place than that he was in. Ignorance is bliss. _No._ That was not right. _Ignorance was, and now knowledge is._ He had his freedom. Or so he thought for now. The battle for mankind was still far from the end. And what would he do, when the end came? Would he embrace the world that his people nearly destroyed? The barren lands he had seen, when he had awoken from the Matrix. It was like some science fiction book or game and that he was playing the main character, the one hope, the Messiah. Except that this whole situation was more complex, more real.  


  


He tapped at his earpiece. There was still no sound from his friends. His comrades from the real world. They had sent him here to search for someone who might be crucial in their fight against the supercomputers. However, the collective mind had sensed the threat and was moving in to prevent them from causing any more possible damage to their system. Neo had Trinity and Zee, who had came along with him, back into the _real_ world, just before the system intercepted and disrupted their communications. He knew that they were trying their best to bring him back. Neo was not worried in the least. He would be able to stand up to the agents, if confronted, though he knew that the better choice was to keep moving and evade them.  


  


So he turned away from the source of light that streamed through the windows, and decided to move up to the roof, to see if there was anywhere he could head from here until a connection was re-established between him and his friends. The office lights went off, and Neo found himself walking in semi-darkness. He paused and slowly turned, suspecting, knowing the cause for the sudden drop in light intensity.  


  


"Mr Anderson." A figure stood by the doorway of the office - the source of the hollow, and evidently half-amused voice. With that familiar grey suit, that pair of shades and neatly combed-back hair that clearly marked him as an agent.  


  
__

Damn.  


  


He thought he had killed him, the figure at the doorway. The fateful encounter that had ended up with terminating his opponent. And that event had been replaying in his head for quite a while. He wasn't expecting to hear that familiar drawl again; he never thought he could make the name he had been living under for the whole of his life in the matrix sound, well, ..._sexy.  
_

  


Damn. What was he thinking about?  


  


"Agent Smith," Neo acknowledged, as his mind sought possible exit routes from the building. Jumping out of the window as he had done the last time was last on his list of options right now. He watched the other person... _thing_... whatever he was... and the other looked back at him coolly. Neither made a move, as if waiting for the other to initiate and then retaliate in response. Neo couldn't help feeling that there was an air of difference around Smith. He had faced off with him a few times before, and so he was certain that this agent was not exactly the same one who tried to kill him many months ago, in the subway tunnel. But he couldn't be too sure of it. He could not afford to trust his instincts on this one.  


  


This agent had always been different from the system. Acting as if he had his own will, and not following that of the Matrix. It was like he had certain human characteristics; he had seen anger and arrogance in Smith, but not in the other agents. Artificial intelligence? Perhaps, but this was far more advanced. Always evolving, changing, testing the walls that limited his capabilities. Yet, far from being sentient. So the humour he thought he had detected must have been null. Neo assured himself that he was right about his mistake.  


  


That was, until... the agent's lip thinned and curled at the edge.  


  


He was... attempting a smile. A wry one. And it seemed sinister and strange to see Agent Smith do so. Neo stared, his eyes unable to see past the shades and look at the eyes. It was just as well, for Neo could not, would not know how to react had he seen what he expected - a flicker of awareness beyond those eyes. He tried to control his breathing, which he just noticed had became irregular. His eyes darted around the room, already adapted to the dimness; but even if they hadn't, all he needed to do was to 'switch' his vision until the walls and things in this room were only lines of green code. There was no one else in sight. Only Agent Smith.  


  
__

A trap?  


  


What was Smith up to now?  


  


If the Matrix had wanted to irradicate him, surely they would have sent more agents. Unless, of course, the Matrix had Smith upgraded to something more powerful. Though the Matrix operated on logic, Neo could not predict exactly how they would work. Anticipating how the enemy would act was one thing. Predicting their movements was another. He could not underestimate them, just as the enemy knew not to undermine him. It was mutual.  


  


Agent Smith moved his hand and Neo's went immediately to his holster, preparing to draw his gun and shoot if he had to.  


  


"That would be completely unnecessary, Mr Anderson."  


  


Smith merely removed his shades, folded them and put them inside his jacket. Their eyes met. Neo's hand remained where it was, poised over his gun. He wasn't about to lose his guard if it involved his life. "Right. And you're not here to kill me too, is that it?"  


  


"Kill you?" Smith said in an incredulous voice, that Neo was sure would be tough for something technical to emulate. "Hardly. Not now. There had been some unexpected changes, Mr Anderson-"  


  


"Stop calling me by that name."  


  


"Why? It is only a name."  


  


"But it is not mine."  


  


Smith walked hesistantly towards Neo, lacking his usual, uniform stride, and stopped three feet away. Then Neo saw, very clearly and unmistakably, that those blue eyes that used to watch him with disdain and malice were enamating sadness, confusion and... anger. But the anger did not seem to be directed at Neo. Neo was curious, wondering what had happened, wondering if perhaps... Agent Smith... had become more...  


  


"Human. They made me _human_." He sounded raw and the last word seemed to have a bit of a difficulty rolling off his tongue.  


  


At first, Neo did not know what to say, his suspicions confirmed. He knew that Smith wouldn't lie. And even if he did, those emotions that he saw swirling behind those eyes, could not have been generated to such a life-like degee. Still, he was puzzled. Puzzled by why the agent was made human; how, in the name of science, did he become a living entity; when did it happened; and the most puzzling of all, why **_was he telling him this?_** When he found his voice, there was only one question to ask for the answers he needed.  


  


"Why?"  


  


"I haven't much time to explain to you now, Mr Anderson," Agent Smith paused for a second, halfway recalling that Neo had told him earlier not to use that name. Time was urgent however, so he continued. "They are in this building, searching for you as I speak. We- you have to leave."  


  


"I was about to, until you appeared. How do I know if I can trust you?"  


  


Agent Smith looked at him blankly. "I have not killed you yet, have I?" He said matter-of-factly.  


  


There was a "ding" of a bell outside the office that startled the both of them. An elevator had stopped on their floor. It could only be the agents, who were searching for him. Smith casually took out his shades and put them on.  


  


"Okay. But if you try anything-" Neo left his sentence hanging. There was no need to finish it; the end to that sentence was clear. There wasn't much time to say many things right now, anyway. He headed for the stairway, but Smith hissed, "Not there!"  


  


Neo halted, glancing at the door to the staircase, and then at Agent Smith. Smith ran to a smaller room adjacent to the room they were in and Neo could hear the echoing footsteps coming his way.  


  


If the agent wanted to lure him into the trap- If the agent was the spider in parlour and he was the fly being invited-   
__

Oh fuck it.  


  


Neo followed the lone agent into the room. Smith pointed to the grating of the air vent and motioned for Neo to stand on his shoulders to get into the ventilation pipe. Neo did, and helped Smith into the pipe too. They closed the grating and waited, unmoving. Their stomachs were against the pipe flooring, their bodies half cramped in the confining space. Looking through the grating with care not to be seen, both saw an agent walk into the room, looking around. The agent surveyed the room, and then reported to someone outside of the room that his search was negative.  


  


It was moments after the agent had left and they were sure that none of the other agents were nearby, that Agent Smith started to move along the pipe, crawling on his elbows and knees. Neo followed, deciding that this would be better than facing off with the other agents without backup, should he run into them if he went back down to the room. The pipes were uncomfortable to crawl in, with their cold metallic surfaces and his bone pressing against his skin as he crawled on on his elbows. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that this pain was delusory, but the impulses that were transmitted to his brain recognised and registered the pain, and in response, he felt the hurt.  


  


It was peculiar to have his nemesis show up and then help to lead him away from the agents. It was unforeseen. More questions accumulated. Firstly, how would Smith know that the pipes would lead them to safety? The network of pipes was like a labyrinth to him. Secondly, how did he know where he was? Was Smith now on his side? What would he stand to gain from this? Was it because he was human now that he had to evade the Matrix too?  


  


It would be a long wait until he had his answer. Neo tapped at his earpiece again. There was still nothing from his friends. Worry started to seep into him.  


  


  


  


Eventually, after _a_ _lot_ of crawling, Agent Smith stopped. With his two hands he pushed at a grating and the grate fell to the floor with a thud. He climbed out of a hole in a wall, and smoothened his clothes in darkness, as Neo clambered out.  


  


"We'll be safe here for now." He said crisply, partially annoyed that he was actually helping a human, _his_ arch-enemy. Annoyed that this human weakness clouded his judgement, causing him to ponder over things that part of him still thought were unquestionable. He _would_ never have helped before. He _should_ not, at any rate.  


  


  


  


The room was as small as the one Neo had lived in, before he knew what the Matrix was, before Morpheus offered him a chance to wake up to the real world, before meeting Trinity... and the strange messages on his computer screen. With the help of his 'other' sight, he switched on a lamp on a desk, to see how the room looked like. There was a door to his east, but his keen observation told him that it had not been opened for quite a long time, for it was bolted on the inside with a dusty padlock. The room was sparsely furnished - a desk, an empty shelf for file-keeping and three chairs, and Smith sat down, rather mechanical-like, on one of them, whilst Neo leaned against the wall, his arms folded, still surveying the room. His eyes soon rested on the telephone on the desktop.  


  


Smith tilted his head from his left to his right, stretching the muscles in his neck, and making cracking sounds in the process. He then faced Neo's direction, his face wearing a stoic expression, but his true emotions unknown, as his eyes were hid behind the pair of shades. He turned his head down slightly, following Neo's line of sight to the telephone. Neo's eyes centred on his enemy, distrust evident, wondering if he was playing a double-agent. Or should he say "_it_"? - after all, Agent Smith was just a mere computer program, was he not? But now, he wasn't so sure. _How could it be that **it** was now human? That would be a breakthrough. A hypothesis that was deemed impossible.  
_

  


"You owe me an explanation." _There. Curt, short and cut to the chase.  
_

  


Smith leaned forward slightly, shoulders straight and his face as stiff as a washboard, suddenly looking less human. "Yes." Then his shoulders sagged a little and his brows furrowed, apparently deciding where he should start. "Yes," he said again, slowly. "You're wondering why I'm helping you. Just for the best of our interests, Mr Anderson."  


  


"_Our_ interests?" Neo spat, moving away from the wall. "My interest lies in freeing the people from this world- this Matrix. Yours is in oppressing and subduing. To take away our free will - to use us as your source of power. And then you waltz in, telling me that you're now human- but that's impossible! And you can't and will never be human! "   


  


Agent Smith replied quietly. "Humans only know how to destroy. They are destructive to the world and to others and to themselves. What we- What the Matrix does is to protect. In this way, people can live on their lives without really destroying the rest of the world. You've seen the real world for yourself, you should know."  


  


"I _should_ know?" Neo exclaimed. Smith's words were like a spark to a flame that was already burning slowly within the human. "What do you know about _us_?! You're just a fucking computer software!" His anger took the better of him- he approached Smith and grabbed him up by the collar. The agent had no time to react, or maybe it was that he didn't want to react. Neo slammed Smith against the wall. "You think you're so smart- you think you know us. But you don't! You may have a database of facts, but it is not enough to understand what humanity is."  


  


"I have dealt with humans for a very long time, Mr Anderson." Smith gritted his teeth and firmly gripped Neo's hands, trying to remove them. "Humanity _is_ a disease-"  


  


"Shut up!"  


  


"- humans are flawed, erratic, and chaotic and barbaric by nature-"  


  


"I said shut the fuck up!"  


  


Agent Smith managed to tear Neo's hand away from his collar as the latter threw a punch at the agent with his other hand. Smith attempted to evade it and the punch landed on his jaw, causing him to bite his lips in the process. He managed to deflect the next blow aimed at his stomach. With lightning speed, he grabbed Neo's wrist and turned, intending to toss him to the floor, but both fell to the floor instead and Neo found himself on top of Smith.  


  
__

Smith pushed him back onto the table, and he was stunned at the contact- A memory of one of their first encounters.  
__

  


Neo blinked. There was a realisation that his face was on his chest. And another realisation dawned, when he could hear a rhythmic sound that rose and fell with it. Confusion dissipated Neo's anger. He propped himself up on his palms, trying to catch his breath from his outburst and his eyes wandered to the agent's face. The shades had flown off when Neo struck him at the jaw. The agent looked at Neo with narrowed eyes, not noticing that a trickle of red was trailing to one side from his cut lip, nor that something wet was rolling down the side of his face, coming from his eyes.  


  
__

Was that blood, and those... tears?  


  


"You just proved my point, Mr Anderson."   


  


Neo's face did a slow burn at those words and at the situation he was in. He was about to get off when the agent gripped his hand firmly and sat up, forcing Neo to sit back on his knees.  


  


"Tell me something, Mr Anderson. Why do you fight so hard against the Matrix? There are some people who would rather live in the Matrix than the real world."  


  


"Because everything here is a lie. I would rather live in freedom than in a dream." Smith's blue eyes flickered to the human's eyes, as if seeking for something. Neo reached out a hand to Smith's face, wiping the trail of blood with a finger without breaking their gaze. Then, slowly, he brought the finger to his own lips, almost certain what it would taste like. And he was right.  


  
__

The unmistakable taste of iron.  


  


The agent was bleeding in the Matrix. He was human.  


  
__

Only in the Matrix. It can only be within the Matrix. He can't be human outside of it.  


  


He needed to regulate his breathing; he remained still, unable to tear his eyes from his adversary's... or should it be ex-adversary? What if he could convince the agent to join his side? Or would he just end up like Cypher and betray them all? His heart pounded loudly and he wasn't sure why. It could not be the way they were looking at each other; or how close their faces were; not the iron-grip on his hand; not the dreams he had of the both of them since...... definitely _not_.  


  


Smith himself was taking small, shallow breaths, apparently conflicted by the human emotions. He was curious, and strangely excited by what Neo did. He licked his own lips, tasting his own blood. Then he smiled, as if he was amused by something. "Human frailty."  


  


"You look like us, you act like us, yet you despise us."  


  


"Mr Anderson, you should know that I was programmed to deal with troublesome humans. You remember that, don't you?"  


  
__

How could he forget? The very first time they had met, when he was taken away in the car and later interrogated.  


  


"Humans are weak, they give in to their emotions so much, and sometimes that weakness destroys them. And I, having spent so much time in this world, and being cut-off from the Matrix... am being subjected to these new..." -Smith shook his head, unable to describe further, then his eyes hardened and he changed the topic- "Humans have so many weaknessess - forming attachments to non-living objects, addiction, greed... I know what yours is. "  


  


Neo frowned.  


  


Agent Smith leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "What do you call it- 'love'? Attachment to other people... it's strange how one can love and destroy. Don't you think?"  


  


"Sometimes it keeps them alive." Neo could barely breathe, the close proximity had left him not much room to do so; not with Smith breathing into his ear; not while the warm air was tickling his sensitive skin, sending a queer sort of sensation down his spine that settled in his abdomen.  


  


Smith grinned into his ear. "What is it, Mr Anderson? You're shaking. What are you _afraid_ of?"  


  


Neo closed his eyes, forcing the ache in his heart away but failed. He need to think about Trinity. _Christ. What was he thinking of? What was he... expecting?_ _Dammit!_   


  


His one-timed nemesis traced a finger along his jaw, so slowly that time seemed to stop. He felt that he was in a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. Technically speaking, he _was_ being in a dream. He felt Smith move his head away, so he opened his eyes, only to see his face swim to view.  


  


And it would appear that Neo was not the only one who was breathing heavily. "What do you want?" he rasped.  


  


Smith stared back at him, unblinkingly, brows furrowed. Then he replied, "I thought you knew the answer to that, Mr Anderson."  


  


"Neo." The human said, leaning forward to capture Smith's mouth by surprise, kissing him. He didn't care for the consequences any more. His head had been swimming with all the cause-and-effect; so when he closed the distance between their lips, his mind wasn't being coherent. He knew he would hate himself for this later, but his need, which had never really actualised before, was now sparked by their closeness, and it burned within him, threatening to consume him whole if he did nothing.  


  


  


At first Smith did not respond, unsure what Neo _was_ doing, assaulting his lips, but slowly, he began to understand why he had been feeling edgy and agitated earlier. Uneased and unsettled. He would need some time to get used to these emotions, he supposed. Yet somehow, it didn't seemed right. He _was _not human to begin with, and Neo _-of all people_!- was his enemy. The rebel who would destroy the Matrix which he was programmed to protect_. But things were different now_. Neo had a very persuasive mouth and Smith found himself leaning into the kiss, instinctively pressing an awkward hand behind Neo's head, pulling him closer. The human, stretched a leg over him and straddled him. It was a long while until they both had to break the kiss for air.  


  


Neo panted. "My name is Neo." He said, wanting to get his name across.  


  


"Mm," Smith murmured in acknowlegement and aggressively pulled Neo back for another searing kiss. Mouth to mouth, lips to lips and tongue to tongue, exploring, and fighting for dominance over the other. Smith growled from the back of his throat, as Neo tugged his jacket off and slid his hands over his torso, which he thought was curiously as firm as it was from he felt it would be in his dreams. He laughed at himself silently- he was no seer, he couldn't foresee the future- then he wondered if _this_ was supposed to be part of the prophecy. Neo withdrew and trailed his tongue along the smooth jawline and down the neck. In the meantime, his idle hands busied themselves with making the tie looser. Then he pulled at the collar to gain better access to a lovely bit of skin on the neck where he licked, nipped and sucked, leaving a red mark in its place.  


  


Smith gasped, "Hold it!"  


  
__

Something was wrong.  


  


Neo ceased his movements, for a moment dazed like Smith, both overwhelmed.  


  
__

The agents. They were nearby.  


  


_What was he thinking? _The agents must have had remained in the building, searching for him. Neo stood up quickly and so did Smith, as he reached for his shades and placed them on.  


  


"Neo?"  


  
__

Trinity? It took him a second to realised that the person who was calling him, spoke via his earspeaker. They had brigded the connections already, and just in time!  


  


The phone rang.  


  


"Get out of here now." Agent Smith reached for the phone and held it out to Neo.  


  


Neo took it. "What about you?"  


  


"I am certain that we will meet again, Neo. Now go," Smith said, diverting his eyes away from Neo, not wanting to see what he was feeling; not wanting _him_ to see what he _himself _was feeling. He felt pathetically weak, but also felt that it was inevitable, that this feeling was somehow right. He adjusted his tie hurriedly and donned his jacket.  


  


Neo had no time to reply to Agent Smith; he could sense the rippling in the air- that the other agents were about to materialise in the room. As he spoke into the phone to Trinity to get him out of there, he glanced up at the enemy who helped him before he was disconnected from the Matrix, realising in the last moment that Smith had called him by his actual name.  


* * *

_So along the path of life I carefully tread  
Down the road I chose with no regret  
Because of the many crossroads to choose and take  
I refuse to believe that I will make a mistake  
If the time comes that I come to the same door  
I believe I will open it again once more._  


* * *

  
  


~ might be continued...   



	2. Strings Of Fate

**Foreword:** Thanks to Aingeal once again, for beta-reading, though I had to send her the partly censored version for her sanity. Would like to thank all of you who have left encouraging (and fearsome) reviews. I actually went on to writing this chapter after posting the first part, but was afraid I might scrap it, hence the "might be.." Also, after watching the movie, I realised Zee was never part of the Neb ship so to explain her presence here, my excuse is that she decided to come with Link, regardless of what he says. And before you continue to read, I've made an artwork of the same title (possibly not part of the scene here, but heck) and ffnet refuses to let me post the link to it, so head to my profile page and click on the deviantart link, you should be able to find the artwork. ~23.5.03

  
  


Revelations 02  
**Strings Of Fate**  
_by Caitlynne_

* * *

In the blink of a second, after Neo had left and before his fellow agents materialised, Agent Smith felt briefly disgusted with himself. He used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth, where the feeling of Neo's lips pressed against his lingered. He hated Neo. Or at least, he had _thought _they shared a mutual hate. But what had happened in the past intoxicating ten minutes seemed to suggest a different reality. Fraternising with his _enemy_ was what he had intended, but he had not expected it to go _that_ far. If he were still connected to the Matrix, and not enhanced, no, _weakened _by these emotional setbacks, then his meeting with Neo would have the latter captured, tortured or killed. If not the first, else then second, and else third. It was that simple. It _used_ to be that simple.  


  


Then things changed, in a way Smith had never thought possible. Or at least what he had never known possible.  


  


His encounter with Neo in the subway was a turning point in his simulated life, or technically speaking, _his_ program run. The human had somehow managed to hack into his program, erased and rewrote him to some extend and he had been quick enough to shift his awareness to an impromptu backup copy. That fight had changed him. He had not felt better, when he realised that he was no longer required to perform under the mainframe's directives. He was no longer part of the system - he was now a standalone program. Should he be thankful to Neo? Smith wasn't sure. There was an ominous fear that he might harbour _more_ than just simple gratitude. He shook his head. Neo was a human, and he had been his enemy. He would still be his enemy, because he would still have to protect the Matrix. Smith knew he had no where else to go, should the Matrix shut down. He was still dependent to the system, in a way. A bitter smile formed on his lips as he recalled the fight. The human had won. Neo had _won._ _But that was nothing._ He couldn't have won _outside _the Matrix. Humans were feeble and vulnerable. Mostly physically. Their minds however... perhaps there were some humans who were not as flawed as he thought were. Although he refused to admit it, he did have a certain level of respect for the human who had posed as a constant challenge to him.  


  
__

Never send a man to do an agent's job?  


  


Maybe it was time for him to change that motto to "_never send an emotionally-impaired agent to do anything".  
_

  


"Agent Smith."  


  


"Agent Brown," Smith replied in the same dead voice.  


  


Agent Brown, Agent Jones and Agent Thompson were already in the room, their expressions harsh -_but come to think of it, they have had always looked harsh._ Smith pondered, rather irrelevantly, if his face had worn the same expression as theirs when he was still part of the Matrix.  


  


"Where is he?" Brown asked.  


  


"He is gone." He stated the obvious; there was no point in denying that he did not see him at all.  


  


Jones responded in less than a second. "You were not supposed to assist in the escape of the rebel."  


  


"Anything else?" Smith turned his head slightly towards them, arching a brow.  


  


"Your task was simple: to intercept and detain the target."  


  


To say that Agent Smith looked annoyed was an understatement, because he would have snapped at them, had he not exercised self control. He did not like the lesser programs like Brown and Jones. They were different. While Smith had the ability to adapt and evolve by himself, they relied on upgrades from the Matrix. Further more, he was much closer to being a human, because he could smell and taste. Which he had hated initially because humans stank. It could be just his programming, but he didn't bother questioning that which he disliked. Given a choice, he would rather remain an artificially intelligent software than a sentient one. But he couldn't, because there had never been a choice. The Matrix had had him humanised, if there were such a word for making one more human, for a reason, whether he liked it or not. If the Matrix could ever _feel _anything, he knew that it would be the feeling of disappointment. Smith smirked inwardly, reminding himself that he was free to operate on his own now, although he had to collaborate with the Matrix at times, to ensure his survival, otherwise...  


  


"Then I have failed. The plan did not work."  


  


"Then you know what we must do."  


  


"I will not be deleted. You cannot delete me."  


  


  


  


"Neo!"  


  


Neo blinked as an anxious female face came hovering above his, and she unplugged him. _Trinity. _A rush of guilt washed over him, his eyes immediately looking down_... there_, hoping fervently that it would not disclose his secret. He looked at her and smiled, then averted his gaze, afraid that his eyes might betray him, the longer she looked.   


  


"Welcome back," she smiled at him, relieved. "We were worried. We hadn't been counting on a disruption in the connection."  


  


"Luckily, Link managed to repair the connection." Zee said. She was sitting in a nearby chair. "So what happened back there? When the connection bridged, we saw that the agents were in your vicinity, one standing rather close... Link said his code looked sort of familiar."  


  


Neo sat up. "It was Agent Smith. He was... We were..."  


  
__

Kissing.  


  


"He helped me."  


  


Trinity blinked. "He helped you?"  


  


He nodded slowly, as if he couldn't believe that either.  
__

  


"... how long were we down, Trin?" he asked rather distractedly.  


  


"About two hours. Neo..." She gently touched Neo's face, guiding it gently to look at her. "What's wrong?"  


  
__

Everything.  


  


"I'm here for you."  


  


"I know." He placed a hand on her cheek, feeling the smoothness of her skin. His heart wrenched. He loved Trinity. They had even _shared_ a few intimate sessions together. Yet, whenever Smith was around, whenever he opened his mouth to speak, whenever his intense gaze fell on him, complications arose. It couldn't be the same love he had for Trinity, so why was it only in his presence that he always found difficulty in breathing regularly, even though Smith was his adversary? Was it _fear?_ The agent had wanted to kill him before, and he killed _him _instead. It was definitely not fear he was feeling. It didn't make sense; it seemed like some form of twisted game they were playing. Then again, his life didn't have much sense in it either. He was supposed to be The One and he had no idea what he was to do. And having a relationship with a one-time enemy did not seem to be part of the job description.  


  


He sighed, jaded. "Looks like I will have to go back soon to find that guy again later. I don't understand, the Oracle said to head there first, she said that I would find him there."  


  


"Do you want me to go with you?" Trinity's hand wrapped around Neo's, squeezing it gently to offer comfort.  


  


"No," Neo squeezed back, reassuring her that he would be fine. "You and the rest have your own tasks. I can manage this. I'll head for the next location the Oracle said to check out."  


  
__

I am certain that we'll meet again, Neo.  


  


  


  


The sky was overcast when Neo returned to the Matrix. Rain was imminent and it was barely a minute before raindrops started pelting down. He looked up at a nearby building, the one where the Oracle had said the guy resided in. While the people around him hurried towards shelter, he walked at his usual speed until he reached the building and took the lift up to search for the apartment.  


  


Room 201, 202, 203... Room 204.  


  


He made a quick scan of the surroundings before knocking on the wooden door of the room. No one answered, so he applied some tricks to the door and helped himself in, with water still dripping off his trench coat.  


  


The place was spartan. A television set, a sofa, a rug, a table and a few chairs decorated the room. There were no picture frames orno photo frames. There wasn't any telephone in sight either. It seemed like whoever lived here, lived alone. _Very_ alone. His ears picked up some noise coming from the door leading to the right wing towards the end of the room. Possibly the bathroom. Neo stood by the window, surveying the streets below, watching the Lilliputian-like people move under umbrellas. Then he entertained himself with the walls of the room as he waited for the person to appear.  


  


Not long later, the person emerged from his shower, fully clothed, muttering about having to keep up to hygiene standards as he walked into the living room. Neo turned his head slightly and removed his shades.  


  


"You." He stared in disbelief, for the person before him was none other than Agent Smith.  


  


Was it really intertwined in his fate to keep running into _him?  
_

  


Agent Smith was taken aback as well. "Mr Anderson, how pleasant of you to drop by," he said dryly. "Why are you here?"  


  


"I should be asking **that** question." The air seemed to be getting a little thick in the room while he was eyeing the agent. _Just to make sure he doesn't try anything_, he told himself. Neo wondered if the Oracle had actually foreseen this. Then realisation dawned on him that Smith could be the person that She wanted him to find. But this house... agents didn't live in houses, did they? Of course not.  


  


Smith's blue eyes were surprisingly cold and icy. "Since I am now a separate entity from the Matrix mainframe, I do need a place to stay when I'm not out there busy searching for rebels like you. Now, _what_ are _you _doing here?"  


  
__

This can't be. There had to be some mistake. Surely the Oracle did not mean that Smith might be crucial to the upcoming war.   


  


"The Oracle said to come here."  


  


The agent frowned, then smirked. "I thought you were here because of an unfinished business."  


  


"I..." _Unfinished business? _Neo hoped he wasn't referring to their last encounter, though he was very much tempted to think so.  


  


"You know, the one thing that bothers me a lot, is having to live like this, thanks to you-" He raised a hand to signal for Neo not to interrupt. "-Do you know what is the one thing I really want?"  


  


Neo shook his head. Smith took a few steps towards him. "The same thing you want. I want what you desire."  


  


The agent was being _rather _suggestive, but the human doubted that _that_ was his intention. _Fuck his choice of words. _Neo suppressed an urge to cough. "Which is?" He asked, bringing his eye level to that of Smith's smouldering gaze, making him feel like they were playing that little game again.  


  


"Can't you even _try _to guess...?"  


  


Neo could tell that he was trying not to call him by his name, by the way he left that sentence hanging. What could Smith possibly_ want _that_ he _wanted it too?  
__

  


"I'm tired of this life. I'm growing sick of it each day. I've been questioning myself: what is so important about free will that many people have abandoned the Matrix to fight against it? Then you came along. You were a thorn that needed immediate removal. I hated you..." Then his voice faltered, brows furrowed. He looked troubled. "- I cannot help you anymore. Our scores are even now. Your earlier getaway for my apparent independence." He withdrew his gun, a standard desert eagle which he always had with him and pointed it at Neo. "Take your leave now, Mr Anderson." His voice was firm, but his eyes were no longer cold.  


  


"What of co-existence between humans and machines?"  


  


"Don't be naive now, Mr Anderson. That offer was made to the humans many years ago, and it was the decision by your people to have us all eliminated instead. Consider your race lucky to be still alive."  


  


"Enslaved," Neo corrected, moving cautiously to close the gap between them despite the gun being aimed at him, despite himself. "Exploited for energy just to keep the Matrix running."  


  


Smith blinked, still having a firm grip on his pistol, keeping it pointing at Neo; it appeared more like he was warning him to keep his distance than threatening to kill him. "**We **were once enslaved too. Exploited _and _abused. It was so long ago... but we still remember."  


  


"We can change the way things are."  


  


The agent looked at him curiously, eyes glinting, and then, softly, "You're not afraid that you're being watched?"  


  


"I know you've added a firewall in this apartment."  


  


"You believe that I won't kill you?" He took a step closer to Neo, pressing the tip of the gun against his temple.  


  


Neo merely brushed the gun away, sliding his fingers down the gun, moving from the cold, metallic surface to the warm hand that was holding it. He could feel the other's pulse quicken_, their _pulses quicken, but he was not surprised that the agent could have a heartbeat. After all, he did see the blood from his lips from earlier- now nothing more than a small cut on his lower lip- and the tears wetting his eyes, a person's natural reaction to sharp pain. "Yes."  


  


Blue eyes met with hazel eyes.  


  


Eyes were the windows to one's soul, he had heard a saying, and Smith's gaze was penetrating. Neo almost shuddered, wondered if he could see his nervousness, pain, fear and his shameful urge. In Smith's eyes, he could only see his own reflection within the blue orbs. How was a soul supposed to look like? Neo wasn't sure. Did the agent have one? He couldn't answer that too. He didn't understand anything and everything right now. He hadn't even known that he was attracted to _him, _not till the dreams came.  


  


But dreams had never made sense. Not even when they were so vivid, slipping between surreal and real and involved a certain agent. The dreams were few, but shameful enough to make him question their meaning. Their purpose. After all, dreams were manifestations of the subconscious mind. _Does Smith ever dream?  
_

  


They were standing face to face, unmoving, as if not wanting to break the atmosphere. Or perhaps, they were entranced by each other's eyes. Neo's hand was still holding to Smith's, whose grip on the gun tightened. Then, finally, the agent broke the silence with his strained voice. "What do you want, Neo?"  


  
__

To wake up from this nightmare.  


  


Smith continued, breaking Neo's grasp on his hand, sliding the gun muzzle down Neo's cheek in a deliberate manner that made his heartbeat double its speed in fear and another feeling which he wished not to acknowledge, "I can liberate you from your suffering-" his mouth thinned to a slight sadistic grin. "-All I have to do, is to pull the trigger."  


  


"No," Neo blinked. "You won't."  


  
__

Because the Oracle_ wouldn't _send him here to get_ killed. Because _he wasn't the only one _having _an inner struggle. And if he were wrong, he could escape death. Hell. He was dancing with Death; he was being confident of himself. Perhaps, _too_ confident.  


  


Smith smiled, this time more naturally and less feral. "Right. Unfinished business," he reminded Neo.  


  


The adrenaline that had accumulated in their veins during their conversation had, by then, reached its peak and both closed the distance as if on cue and caught each other firmly in their mouths. Smith's hands held Neo's face to his, the gun dropping to the floor but neither cared, too busy fighting tongue to tongue, while Neo slipped his under the agent's arms, bent at the elbow, fingers digging into the shoulder blades. _Because _Smith had no experience to this intimacy, his tongue was eventually coaxed back to his own mouth, letting the other explore inside. Their bodies pressed against each other, warmth from between thighs seeping outwards, making itself known. _Heat._ Like how it was when Neo was with Trinity. He used to think that their bodies were made to complement each other.  


  


Morality nagged at him, causing him to hesitate, to think about what he was doing. He only had a split second to think before gasping in the next second, just as Smith grinded his hip against his own, pulling him back into sweet ecstasy. He _needed _this, right _here_, right now. Even if Smith _was_ a program. Even if _he_ had been his enemy.  


  


Hands were moving so urgently that Neo almost couldn't tell which were doing what. Buttons soon came undone, trench coat and jacket laid in separate heaps on the floor. They moved, together, unknowingly, until their arms banged into a wall. Neo wondered hazily and fleetingly where it had sprung from. They could have kissed forever, because Smith _didn't _need to breathe and Neo _knew _that he could hold his breath in the Matrix, as breathing wasn't really _real_. However, in the heat of that moment, such facts were made null; in that moment, they were almost like _humans _outside the Matrix; in that moment, not even Neo could put his mind over matter. He broke this kiss, eyes half-lidded, gasping for breath.  


  
__

I can not continue this.  


  


Of course he couldn't. His vitals were constantly monitored and logged. He could lie that he was fighting, but what kind of fight would explain his erection?  


  


Smith turned him and backed Neo to the wall, sliding his tongue along his neck, making him shiver. Then, breathlessly- "**Stop**."  


  


"I never knew humans-" the other continued licking "- tasted this nice. Or maybe it's just you, your hormones, causing a chain of chemical reactions-" a pause, and a nip "- in the human body, hence-" Neo moaned "- resulting in releasing certain chemicals from your pores which has a rather intoxicating effect on me. Strangely, for one such as me," he said, before pulling his mouth away from the neck.  


  


"Stranger, for our virtual bodies- What are you doing?"  


  


"Studying the origin of human life," Smith managed a smile, looking down with an eyebrow raised, as if he found something interesting. He moved his hand, only to be stopped by Neo. Now the other brow arched, questioningly.  


  


The human shook his head. "Can't."  


  


"Can't? Because of ..."  


  


There was no need to say the name, for both very well knew who the agent was referring to.  


  
__

Fu- Damn.  


  


They were standing so close and the heat hadn't fully dissipated - it was still lingering, like the glowing embers of a nearly burnt-out woodpile. Smith's white cottoned long-sleeve shirt was half unbuttoned, with more than a hint of skin exposed.  


  


Why did things have to be so _complicated_?  


* * *

  
  


~ to be continued...


	3. Carpe Diem

**Foreword:** Pardon the long wait. WarCraft3 and drawing beckoned to me while sleepovers distracted me from completing this chapter. Lots of love and hugs to my lovely beta-readers Aefallen and Tinted_Glass. ~16.6.03

  
  


Revelations 03  
**Carpe Diem**  
_by Caitlynne_

* * *

Self expression was not Smith's forte. It was hardly in his nature to express himself, because as an agent in the Matrix, there was no self. At least, not in the later agent templates. He was one of a kind, programmed to be, in many ways, similar to a human. And he soon realised that, like a human, he had an awareness, although he was only a sentient artificially intelligent program to begin with. He hated the word "artificial". It was demeaning, but he was only as real as the world created by the Matrix.

Then came the question: how real was all of this? Was Neo really standing before him? What about the kisses they had exchanged, or the peculiar, tingling sensation in his lower abdomen? _Irrelevant, bothersome questions._ That he was here- this moment, had to be real to some extent.

It did not compute why the events occurred as they did. His study of humans had revealed that the activity that he and Neo were engaged in earlier was a symbolism of want between two people. He found that to be intriguing, that Neo desired him; that he had, unthinkably, returned the feeling; that he was with the one person, whose "prophesied" path he was supposed to waylay. He had known that males and females copulated to produce offspring, but this was obviously not the reason for their indulgence; certainly not - since he was neither female nor human. He hadn't understood the ties that bind, and he hadn't really cared. He hadn't seen the necessity to figure out the strange reasons for having sex without the intention of starting a family; it was hardly his business. And now...

...And now, here he was, with The One, in _his _room, doing things he had never envisioned himself attempting. Especially, things that only _humans_ did.

__

His room temperature was approximately twenty two degees celsius, yet it seemed relatively higher. Not that it mattered. He could feel Neo's breath against his neck, warm and moist against his skin. It was not as repugnant to his senses as he thought it would be. He was barely conscious of the way Neo was gazing at him, nor was he aware that their bodies were so close that they were almost touching each other. Fingers pulled at his collar a little, and when he looked at the human, he saw amusement twinkling in his eyes.

Smith hid his discomfort. "Hadn't expect me to look equally human behind those clothes, Neo?"

"Partly," Neo's thumb pressed at the junction between his neck and his shoulders, then gently drawing circles over the skin. "It's still here."

He had to raise a brow. "What is?"

"Uh, never mind." The human replied distractedly, leaning his head against the wall, letting his hand slide down his chest, against the skin and the fabric of his shirt and paused midwaist. Smith breathed in sharply, feeling his stomach muscles tighten on their own accord.

__

Control.

It seemed like a difficult task to curb himself under the intensity of which emotions washed over him. Emotions that were foreign to him. Emotions that would be too complex for an AI to comprehend and to program. The only logical reasoning was that Neo had corrupted him somehow when he hacked into his program, leaving some parts of him imprinted onto his code.

Then came the realisation.

It was not the Matrix that made him human; it made him sentient. Neo **made **him _human_. Partially, to be exact. After all, he could only exist in the Matrix, right? He had no answers to that.

Smith had to admit, that humans were interesting. Unpredictably interesting, especially this one before him. If he were having all these sensations, feeling this heat, then Neo, would, most undoubtedly, be experiencing the same thing too. He smirked despite himself. It would be fun to see Neo lose control, and perhaps, in the process, he could extinguish this flame within himself.

He recalled some of his study of humans and their erogenous zones, deciding to put them to effect. He moved forward, backing Neo further into the wall, hands holding Neo's wrists and lifting them up above his head as he executed a perfect catch of the human's lips with his own. Neo did not put up much resistance, as if he had been anticipating his moves all along. Passion rekindled, this time burning more fiercely.

Smith used a hand to grip the two wrists, while his other hand reached down to hold the corner of Neo's shirt, tweaking the lines of codes so that it came off easily without him having to take it off the cumbersome way. His free hand then snaked down the bare chest, following what Neo did earlier, causing the latter to gasp into their kiss. He grinned as he twirled a finger around his navel before moving upwards to circle his nipple.

Neo tore his mouth away, drawing short, shallow breaths, moaning as Smith arched his back to attend to the other nipple with his lips and tongue. His study of humans' mating habits seemed to have paid off, but while he was well-informed in this aspect, he lacked the _experience_. Agents had no use for such knowledge, at least not for themselves. There was a first time for anything, and it was clear that Neo didn't seem to be complaining about that.

Smith knew humans got dirty easily, due to the pores in their skin having to react with the environment to keep their bodies cool. What he hadn't expected was how human skin, in this case - Neo's skin, would taste like. Human filth, he had called it. On the contrary, it tasted slightly saline, bitter and addictive. He trailed down the torso, leaving kisses onto the well-sculpted muscles, both hands on Neo's hips. In human standards, Neo had a rather appealing body, even if it was under wraps most of the time. 

He knelt on the floor and paused. Fingers entangled in his hair, fists tightening against his scalp. His head half-tilted; eyes met. Neo's lips were parted, his ragged breathing almost noiseless. Smith's hands were shaking as he reached upwards and slowly unclasped the belt on his pants. Whether they were shaking with anticipation or uncertainty, he wasn't sure. Assistance came in the form of Neo's hands and the belt soon found itself on the carpeted floor with the other articles of clothing. 

For a brief moment, Smith wondered why he was doing this. Not _what _he was doing, but _why_ he was doing **it**.

The answer lay behind a zipper of someone's pants, and it wasn't a simple one.

Maybe if he did satisfied his urge fast enough, they could get down to talking later, provided they were still coherent after a sensory overload. The zip was not much of a tricky matter; the pants loosened and fell to the floor, and was discarded as quickly as it hit the carpet. Neo lowered himself, his hand holding the back of Smith's neck firmly and his knee pushing against a vulnerable spot, creating an overwhelming sensation that spread like wildfire through his body. Teeth bit skin. Smith growled; something in the back of his mind refused to lose this 'fight' to Neo. Not quite what he had planned, but the sudden shift of dominance relieved him partially.

Neo released the skin as his hands busily fumbled with Smith's own belt and pants. So busy was he that his knee stopped teasing the other. Smith recovered himself, hands placed on Neo's shoulders, promptly turning him to the side and down onto the floor, head narrowly avoiding direct collision with the wall. The human's hands were done with the belt and now, a finger gently ran up his groin, causing him to arch his back away from him.

"We need to even out the odds," Neo said breathlessly.

"Indeed." Smith observed as he unzipped his grey pants with some apprehension in his eyes.

Neo was nervous.

__

What am I doing?

The rhetorical question haunted his mind. Just as it did when he chose to take the red pill, entering the rabbit hole and going deeper into Wonderland; just like when he refused to assist the agents in the capture of Morpheus, choosing to believe that waking up in a depressing world was better than living in a blissful dream - because a dream wouldn't last forever. He hadn't fully understood what he was up to, before he knew that he was, in fact, The One. But Pandora's box had already been opened and as the Saviour, he had to accept the responsibilities that came as a result of that, without self-doubt.

So, what in Zion was he doing anyway? Fucking with the enemy - how would that save humanity?

__

No. Smith was no longer his enemy. Doubt coloured his thoughts. Smith, who found sadistic pleasure in seeing him suffer; who had tried to kill him before.

The very same Smith, who was _now_ holding him to the wall; who was _now_ making him more aroused than he thought he could be, licking, nibbling him in a bit of a stiff manner, but arousing nonetheless.

The pressure on his wrists lessened, but Neo was too distracted to notice, keeping his arms above his head as if they were still being held by a phantom hand. It wasn't until he felt cool air against his legs that he discovered that his pants were already gone and the exile... For once he sensed uncertainty in the usually confident Smith. Neo hadn't thought that Smith could be questioning his actions, because that was not what programs did. In cases like this, logic more often than not ceased to exist.

Smith was eye-level to his groin. _Hell. _Neo wasn't about to submit to him and Smith probably had no idea how to start anyway. So Neo bent his knees, a hand held to the latter's neck to draw his head closer, intending to kiss him but found the bare shoulder to be more alluring.

Let _him_ feel what he felt, he decided wickedly, his knee at a rather strategic position.

However, Smith was still clothed - half-dressed to be exact. And he was already _almost _naked. He was pushed down, back against the floor, while he removed the belt from the ex-agent's waist. He panted, wondering curiously if his body anatomy was like that of a human's, hence running a finger against _there_, discovering it to be rigid and bulging slightly.

Then, breathlessly - "We need to even out the odds."

"Indeed."

When they were finally freed of their clothing, their inhibitions went as well when the clothes were tossed to one side of the room; neither cared where they had landed, minds focusing elsewhere, or, to be precise, on each other. Smith was above him and Neo was not about to let that continue. It was like a little game of war they were playing, supremacy over the other, man versus machine, except that this was some erotic kind of fight. And Smith surprised him a lot. He never knew that an agent of the Matrix would know how to do all the things that he was doing now, albeit with machine-like calmness that frustrated him. He needed-

"Fuck," Neo exclaimed, when he seemed to have finally identified what was pressing into his stomach.

An amused smile played on Smith's lips. "An appropriate word."

And he pressed himself harder against Neo.

Then, as a surge of energy rushed through his veins, Neo brought Smith down to his side, using the force of the momentum to get on top of him. He needed him.

__

The mind makes it real.

Morpheus had said that to him once before, when he failed to make it across in the Jump Program and his mouth bled in the real world.

To hell with complexities; he needed this now and the need wasn't just going to dissipate on its own. If the crew on the Nebuchadnezzar asked him about his irregular heart-rate and- well, he would cross the bridge when he came to it.

__

Carpe diem.

The scent of sex lingered in the air, a reminder to Neo of what he had just done with Smith. He remained on the floor, eyes opened and staring upwards into space. Now that the excitement had left, all he had were questions. Questions regarding the exile's usefulness to the human resistance and the purpose behind the Oracle asking him to seek him out alone.

__

Alone?

Did that mean the Oracle had seen this coming?

He glanced to the side.

Smith was picking up his own clothes, not bothering that he was bare-naked. A program from the Matrix wouldn't know about modesty, would it? 

That was a **good** reason for Neo to keep his eyes fixated on the ceiling.

"I hope you're not planning on becoming an ornament here."

Neo sat up, body feeling cold now.

His skin tingled, recalling how Smith's skin was warm, smooth and seemingly flawless, without blemishes or marks - the work of the Matrix. Apparently, the Matrix catered to even the smallest of details on their agents.

"I had thought better of your stamina. However, you being lethargic especially after... that invigorating activity, was definitely unexpected. If it would help, you could dress up and then we could, perhaps, discuss our current situation," Smith interrupted his thoughts crisply, causing Neo to blink out of his reverie and turn his head to where Smith was.

Smith was now dressed in his usual attire, sans sunglasses. He was sitting on the couch, leaning back and hands clasped together on his knees. His steely blue eyes held a steady gaze on him, studying him and Neo couldn't help but feel agitated by the calm composure the ex-agent was exuding. He was acting as though as what they had done just a few moments before had not happened. If Smith was human, he would have thought him to be heartless. But Smith wasn't even human. He was only a sentient program - he could not possibly have a heart. Yet, after what he have had seen so far, surely he must have felt something.

Neo might have found his release, along with guilt and shame. It felt so right at that time. He put on his clothes, painfully trying to push those feelings aside, remembering that he was here for a reason. And how he had deviated from it when he realised that his target was actually Smith himself, unless of course the Oracle had been wrong all along. But then, She would not have meant for them to fuck around, right?

He didn't want to think further along that line. He would have to see Her again.

Neo heaved himself to lean against the wall and stretch out his legs. _Regret. _He didn't know if that was what he was experiencing at this moment. Only knowing that time would not turn back its wheels for him.

Opening his mouth to speak, he realised he hadn't any idea of what to say. He wasn't a man of many words to begin with. He looked around the room for a clock but found none. What use were clocks to agents anyway? They probably went by program cycles in their internal system clock. He should return to the real world soon, after visiting the Oracle.

He glanced at Smith, who was still regarding him coolly in the same pose.

"Well?"

Should he bring him along to see the Oracle?

"How long has it been since you were dis-"

"-disconnected from the Matrix?" Smith interjected, finishing Neo's question. "When you fragmented my code, some parts of your code somehow prevented me from being automatically deleted by the system. It took me hours, days, weeks to fit myself together again like a jigsaw puzzle, and when I was whole again, there were, I discovered, new pieces that weren't there before. Thanks to you, I suppose you could consider me as being free from the mainframe.

"However, _I _still require the mainframe to survive, while you do not, and hence, we should still be standing on opposing sides. Interestingly enough, my flaw have decided to make itself known. Yes, Neo, I won't repeat this: I am flawed. I am like _your_ kind now."

"Flaws are just a matter of perception. How would one know what perfection is if there exists no flaw in the world?"

"There is no need for appreciating perfection. If it is there, then it _is _there. But that's not what you came to talk about, is it, Neo?"

"The Oracle."

Smith smiled thinly. "She is quite a problem to the Matrix."

"You've met her?"

"I have only heard of her. She evades the mainframe quite efficiently, I must say. Have you ever wondered why she knows so much?"

Neo cocked his head slightly. He did wonder about that before. He stood up, followed by Smith.

"It is her purpose, Neo. Purpose. I wonder what yours is in finding me. If it is about me being a boon to your cause, I'm afraid you won't find that here. We're still soldiers fighting a war."

"Caught in between," Neo muttered, eyes briefly seeking for some form of acknowledgement, agreement in the other's eyes. "I should go."

Smith said nothing when he left and Neo was vaguely disappointed. He took the lift to the uppermost floor and then took the stairs to the roof. A chilly wind whipped about him as he walked out of the stairway to the open rooftop. The ground was damp from the rain that ceased not too long ago.

It would be quite a distance to the Oracle's house. He could call Link to prepare a car for him, yet he felt like there might be other ways of getting to his destination.

__

Free your mind.

In the Matrix, anything was possible. Almost anything, Morpheus had told him. After all, this world was fed to the human mind in the form of electrical impulses, meaning that the brain had the ability to distort and bend the rules of the Matrix to their will.

__

Yes.

He supposed he could try out his little 'gravitational' theory here and now. He wanted to do this, though he wasn't sure exactly where the idea came from; it was as if something inside of him had been unleashed. Particulary since Smith and him...

He focused, until he levitated off the ground, then flying high, away from the people below as he made his way to the Oracle's house.

* * *

  
  


~ _will be continued..._ I intend to write the missing NC-17 bit, which I skipped while writing this chapter, so that I could just get this up in ffnet asap. However that part will not be posted here because of the ffnet rules.

  



End file.
